I have personally noticed that in modern railroad photography, especially among the younger group, that the interest in shooting the mundane every-day locomotives and signals seems to be dwindling at a startling pace. Obviously shooting what's left over from the past is more exciting, but I wonder... Will there be a huge lack of images from area's that are not seen as exciting in 10-20 years? Everyone always looks at the past as the best time to be trackside, but with the GE's being the SD40-2's of today I am interested to see what images won't be taken that would have aged well as railroads move further along into "progress". Interested to hear your thoughts!

I have seen that happen, like when the CNW stopped using Alco's on their ore lines. But I'm not so sure it's happening today at an alarming rate. I still see a lot of people out taking pictures and posting. There are so many groups on Facebook it's hard to keep track of them. I still go out, although not as often, and shoot whatever comes by.

Historically there is the story that Trains Magazine felt the end was near as steam was ending and (changed their name for a while?). Often early diesel photos were only a result of someone waiting for a steam engine and grabbing a shot. My friend Bill Clynes mentioned DL-109's were so common on the New Haven that he quit shooting them.

I realize it is different now but there has always been that element. Today you can see it as many in the hobby have become niche photographers also moving to the newer technology.

Today's large railroads have homogenized rosters, highway-style signals, and few buildings with any sort of character remaining. So, IMO, photos need something extra to be of interest. Great light. Great scenery. Interesting juxtapositions.

Will wedgies of black NS diesels in locations that could be anywhere be of more interest in 20 years? Maybe, maybe not.

I'd be more concerned over the evolving ability (or inability) to easily achieve long term digital storage for said images. While there's certainly far more photographs being taken today, there's far fewer people properly storing them. I do feel that todays' boring material will be valuable at some point in the distant future though. If anyone's been able to keep it lol

Loyd L.

__________________
Social Media elevates the absurd and mediocre to a point where they aren't anymore, and that is a tragedy.

I'd be more concerned over the evolving ability (or inability) to easily achieve long term digital storage for said images. While there's certainly far more photographs being taken today, there's far fewer people properly storing them. I do feel that todays' boring material will be valuable at some point in the distant future though. If anyone's been able to keep it lol

Loyd L.

What would be the most stable of the current options?
I've had only one finalized DVD-R become unplayable (out of hundreds).

Not that I would store photos on VHS tape, I recall predictions in video-oriented media that the tapes would last about 10 years. My oldest tapes recorded in SP mode are nearly 40 years old and play perfectly!

What would be the most stable of the current options?
I've had only one finalized DVD-R become unplayable (out of hundreds).

Not that I would store photos on VHS tape, I recall predictions in video-oriented media that the tapes would last about 10 years. My oldest tapes recorded in SP mode are nearly 40 years old and play perfectly!

Write once BD-R HTL optical media would be the current optimal long term storage option, with estimated life expectancies from 100 in standard storage to 1000 years or more in better storage conditions.

For someone that prefers to be a little more hands on, I use spinning external hard drives (rotated out every 2-3 years) and a RAID 5 setup in combination to keep my files. Storage at home in a fire safe, and off site at my bank. Redundancy's the key for me. Stay away from SSD's for this type of usage though.

Loyd L.

__________________
Social Media elevates the absurd and mediocre to a point where they aren't anymore, and that is a tragedy.

The hobby seemingly goes through this cycle every 5 years. A bunch of long-time fans I know were seriously saying they were throwing in the towel because after CSX and NS got their fleets all painted up and the leasers returned, "everything was crap." Some even hung up the cameras briefly, and along comes the NS heritage program. Next thing you know, these guys went from kicking rocks around the parking lot and drinking sour grape juice to entering the push to "join the 20 club" (photographing all 20 units in the lead on the road).

So, give it a little time. Something will happen, whether it's a merger or some sort of new/special paint schemes that freshen things up. It has happened consistently throughout my 35 years in this hobby, and I don't expect it to quit. I'll be here shooting whatever I can, whenever I can in the meantime.

Finally, the only thing I would say I have as any sort of concern with the younger fans is SO many seem perfectly content to just take crummy photos and/or videos with their phone. The majority seem to take little to no interest in serious photography; just need to snap something to post to social media, and that's good enough. I definitely see much less serious camera gear trackside.

For someone that prefers to be a little more hands on, I use spinning external hard drives (rotated out every 2-3 years) and a RAID 5 setup in combination to keep my files. Storage at home in a fire safe, and off site at my bank. Redundancy's the key for me. Stay away from SSD's for this type of usage though.

Loyd L.

I also have my imagery backed up on a bunch of HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) stored in-house and off site. But I had to look up the reason why Loyd doesn’t recommend using SSDs (Solid State Drives) for photo storage and back up. You would think that SSDs would be great for this type of storage, since they don’t have all the moving parts of a HDD and are more shock resistant. But be aware that all SSDs still store data in electrical charges, which slowly “leak” over time if left without power. Older, worn out solid state drives can start losing data in a year or two if left without power in storage! So at this point anyway, it appears that current SSDs are not suitable for archival purposes.

The hobby seemingly goes through this cycle every 5 years. A bunch of long-time fans I know were seriously saying they were throwing in the towel because after CSX and NS got their fleets all painted up and the leasers returned, "everything was crap." Some even hung up the cameras briefly, and along comes the NS heritage program. Next thing you know, these guys went from kicking rocks around the parking lot and drinking sour grape juice to entering the push to "join the 20 club" (photographing all 20 units in the lead on the road).

So, give it a little time. Something will happen, whether it's a merger or some sort of new/special paint schemes that freshen things up. It has happened consistently throughout my 35 years in this hobby, and I don't expect it to quit. I'll be here shooting whatever I can, whenever I can in the meantime.

Finally, the only thing I would say I have as any sort of concern with the younger fans is SO many seem perfectly content to just take crummy photos and/or videos with their phone. The majority seem to take little to no interest in serious photography; just need to snap something to post to social media, and that's good enough. I definitely see much less serious camera gear trackside.

In some ways, little has changed. Few fans shot late steam/early diesel in color. In movies, it was rare to see 16mm footage rather than 8mm.

As for phone stuff, considering what "equipment" they are shot with, it's impressive that some are good enough to be accepted here.

But who knows? Maybe NS will get a CEO who will junk the tired black scheme. Maybe GE will change their cab design.

As for phone stuff, considering what "equipment" they are shot with, it's impressive that some are good enough to be accepted here.

Been there, done that. Because I still shoot slides, I popped this one with my phone to show to a few friends via text. I decided it was decent enough to put on Flickr, and might even have been accepted here.

I have an LG something or other (sorry, just not that into phones) which is roughly 3 years old, and the camera is quite good.

On the storage media conversation, this is precisely what scares me into staying with slides. I know myself way too well, and know I would have thousands of unprocessed photos on useless storage media in no time flat. I just do not have the energy or will to properly file my images. That's not why I'm in the hobby. And it's a very necessary part of the hobby with digital photography.

Finally, the only thing I would say I have as any sort of concern with the younger fans is SO many seem perfectly content to just take crummy photos and/or videos with their phone. The majority seem to take little to no interest in serious photography; just need to snap something to post to social media, and that's good enough. I definitely see much less serious camera gear trackside.

My signature agrees with you.

Loyd L.

__________________
Social Media elevates the absurd and mediocre to a point where they aren't anymore, and that is a tragedy.